INT/EXT. BOXCAR - DAY
1943, Poland,
Darkness and a small slitted light. It moves quickly across the face of a man, SHIMON, 30-40, sitting against a wall of wood.
A teen boy sleeps near his chest, his son, ALEKSANDER, 15. The boy shivers in his sleep, Shimon hugs him close.
The boxcar is crowded, Men, most of them standing. All of them are dressed in fine coats, a bright yellow star stitched over the breast.
They're moving. You can tell by the light that slides across their faces, cascading from a barred window on the side of the train car.
A JEWISH MAN near the window breaks the silence,
They speak German, subtitled,
JEWISH MAN: We're here.
A herd of men press against the window, murmuring.
The train breaks, an awful sound.
Shimon lightly shakes Aleksander.
SHIMON: Aleks? Aleksander? Wake up, we're here.
Aleksander stirs.
SHIMON: Look alive, kid.
ALEKSANDER: (Sleepily,)Where are we?
SHIMON: Somewhere in Poland. A work camp.
ALEKSANDER: Death camp?
SHIMON: No, work camp.
Shimon helps Aleksander stand.
ALEKSANDER: Will we get out stuff back?
SHIMON: Of course. Why else would we have packed?
Even as Shimon says this he looks afraid. He knows.
A little ways away from the family a group of men talk, muffled by the white noise of other prisoners.
MAN 1: I hear they kill the children. They take them from their parents and execute them.
MAN 2: My wife is with my little girl, she won't let that happen.
MAN 1: If she doesn't let her go, they'll kill your wife too. With a gun. They line everyone up and shoot them.
The conversation fades. The Jewish men stand, they look unwell, they wait.
Aleksander shivers, his breaths visible. Shimon holds Aleksander tighter.
ALEKSANDER: (Whispering,) I'm scared.
They stand in silence. And then,
The car door slams open and someone is yelling, a NAZI.
NAZI: Move! Now!
The group of men starts shuffling out the door while the Nazi continues to call out dog commands.
Shimon grabs Aleksander's hand, tight. Aleksander grabs his arm in return.
SHIMON: Stay close.
The Jewish men continue to shuffle out of the car, afraid, cold, skinny. The Nazi won't stop yelling, his calls begin to sound like white noise.
NAZI: Faster! Come On!
Shimon and his son are near the back of the car, the approach the exit, nearly the last people off.
NAZI: Move!
Shimon steps out of the car.
Aleksander stares at the at the scene outside the box cars, herds of SICKLY PEOPLE being lead like cattle to, a large industrial campus behind barbed wire, in other words, a concentration camp.
The boy shakes his head, breathing heavily. Shimon tries to pull Aleksander out but he resists, panic taking over.
ALEKSANDER: No...
SHIMON: Aleksander come on.
The Nazi doesn't wait, he grabs Aleksander by the arm.
NAZI: (Screaming,) Move boy.
The Nazi throws Aleksander to the ground next to the train tracks.
SHIMON: No!
Aleksander holds his hands in front of his face, prepared to be hit.
He isn't.
A Jewish ESCAPEE runs in the opposite direction of everyone else. The Nazi who was focused on Aleksander instead pulls out his pistol and aims for the running man, leaving Aleksander on the ground.
The escapee is instantly shot.
Shimon pulls Aleksander to his feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and leads him towards the camp along with everyone else.
However, Aleksander keeps his eyes focused on the escapee's body.
ALEKSANDER: I don't think this is a work camp.
YOU ARE READING
Generations & Genocide
Short Story"A Genocide begins with the killing of one man- Not for what he's done, but because of who he is." -Kofi Annan Generations & Genocide tells the stories of three parents and their children, of three different minorities facing the atrocities other hu...
